A woman from Texas, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly attempting to drown a three-year-old Palestinian girl at a swimming pool in Euless, Texas. The incident, which occurred on May 19, has prompted civil rights groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), to call for an investigation into the incident as a possible hate crime.
According to CAIR-Texas, the accused, Elizabeth Wolf, approached the child’s mother, who was wearing a hijab and modest swimwear, at the swimming pool of their apartment complex. Witnesses reported that Wolf made racist remarks before jumping into the pool and grabbing the children, attempting to drown them in the deep end. The mother intervened and managed to rescue her children, but Wolf allegedly ripped off her headscarf in the process.
Local Euless police arrived at the scene and arrested Elizabeth Wolf for public intoxication. The child’s mother expressed her fear and trauma, stating that her daughter now hides whenever the apartment door is opened, afraid that the attacker might return.
Salman Bhojani, a Texas House of Representatives member from Euless, expressed his shock and condemnation of the incident, emphasizing that hate has no place in their community or the state of Texas.
The attack comes amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, which has resulted in a significant loss of Palestinian lives. This incident follows a pattern of hate crimes targeting individuals of Palestinian descent in the United States. In recent months, there have been reports of similar attacks, including a stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy and the shooting of three Palestinian men in Vermont.
CAIR, in its press release, highlighted that it has received thousands of complaints regarding bias and discrimination in the past year.
